Downtime Activities

The following examples show the kinds of tasks your character might take on to Earn Income during low-level and high-level play.
Chk Chk Makes Coffee
Chk Chk is a 3rd-level mystic and an expert barista. He has a Coffee Lore modifier of +7.
He spends 30 days of downtime working shifts at a streetside coffee stand in Little Akiton on Absalom Station, where he just finished an adventure. The GM decides working at the fast-paced but rundown coffee stand is a 2nd-level task and secretly sets the DC at 16.
On his first shift, Chk Chk rolls a 19 on his Coffee Lore check for a result of 26, critically succeeding! He earns 5 credits for his efforts (like a success at a 3rdlevel task) and continues working for 6 more days, for a total of 35 credits.
At that point, the GM offers Chk Chk a choice: he can finish out the month slinging coffee in Little Akiton or accept a job offer from a trendy cafe in Bluerise Tower (a 4th-level task). Chk Chk takes the job in the posh corporate cafe, despite knowing the clientele won't be as friendly as the residents of Little Akiton. He switches to his new job and attempts a new Coffee Lore check against DC 19. Rolling a 13, he gets a result of 20, barely succeeding! He earns 8 credits per day. The busy office workers love Chk Chk's extra black coffee (with rainbow sprinkles).
The GM rules that the coffee shop is pleased to let Chk Chk work there for the remainder of his downtime, a total of 23 days. Chk Chk gladly accepts and earns a respectable total of 219 credits that month.
Dae Performs in a Dance Contest
Dae is a 16th-level solarian and a legendary dancer. With their Meyel's Melody ancestry feat they have a +2 status bonus to Performance checks, for a total Performance modifier of +30.
With 30 days of downtime ahead of them, Dae decides to enter a contest to appear in Superstatic Danceblast, a Pact Worlds music video.
The GM decides that getting through every round of the contest and earning a spot takes a full two weeks and is a level 14 task, secretly setting the DC at 32.
Dae rolls a 10 on their Performance check for a result of 40. Success! After 14 days of tough competition, Dae has made it into the music video! The GM explains that the advance pay is 2,800 credits (incidentally covering the 200 credits they earned every day for 14 days).
The next 16 days of downtime are quite busy for Dae. The GM explains that the stakes are high, as there's been a surprise announcement: Superstatic Danceblast will be performed live on “Zo! You Think You Can Dance?” Winning the competition is a monumental 20th-level task, and the GM secretly sets the DC at 40. After several days of practice, the show is on, and Dae rolls a 17, handily impressing Zo! with a result of 47! Dae's share of the first prize payout is a whopping 32,000 credits (representing 2,000 credits per day for 16 days). Dae's not sure how they're going to spend their earnings, but it won't have to be on coffee!

When Earning Income, you might be able to spend days of downtime to prepare for your task and lower the DC of the skill check. This might involve rehearsing a performance set list, studying a topic, and so on. The GM determines how long preparation takes and how much the DC changes. This is most useful when you're trying a task that's higher level than you.
Ending or Interrupting Tasks
When a task you're doing is complete, or if you stop in the middle of one, you normally have to find a new task if you want to keep Earning Income. For instance, if you quit your job working at the space docks, you'll need to find another place of employment instead of picking up where you left off. This usually takes 1 day or more of downtime looking for leads on new jobs.
However, you might pause a task due to an adventure or event that wouldn't prevent you from returning to the old job later. The GM might decide that you can pick up where you left off, assuming the task hasn't been completed by others in your absence. Whether you roll a new skill check when you resume is also up to the GM. Generally speaking, if you had a good initial roll and want to keep it, you can, but if you had a bad initial roll, you can't try for a better one by pausing to do something else. If your statistics changed during the break—usually because you leveled up while adventuring—you can attempt a new check.

You can Craft items with the consumable trait in batches, making up to four of the same item at once with a single check. This requires you to include the raw materials for all the items in the batch at the start, and you must complete the batch all at once. You also Craft non-magical ammunition in batches, using the quantity listed in the Ranged Weapons Table.

A written formula for an item helps you create it with less difficulty. This has two functions. First, it reduces the time needed to start Crafting from 2 days to 1, as you have less preparation to do. Second, you can Craft uncommon and rarer items if you're able to acquire their formulas. See the rules for information on formulas.

Iseph is a 5th-level operative and an expert in Crafting. They have a Crafting modifier of +13 and the Tech Crafting feat. With 2 weeks of downtime ahead of them, they decide to craft a commercial active camouflage armor upgrade, a 5th-level item, using its formula. The GM secretly chooses a DC of 20.
The item has a Price of 500 credits, so Iseph prepares 250 credits worth of raw materials. They have another 250 credits worth of raw materials on hand. After spending 1 day in their workshop, they roll a 12 on their Crafting check, for a result of 25. That's a success! At this point, Iseph can spend the additional 250 credits worth of materials to complete the item immediately for 500 credits.
However, Iseph has 13 more days on their hands, so they decide to spend additional time to complete the item. Because Iseph is a 5th-level character and an expert at Crafting, they reduce the amount they need to pay by 10 credits for each day spent. After spending 13 days working, they reduce the total cost to complete the item from 500 credits to 370 credits. Iseph spends the remaining portion of its Price in materials, completes the armor upgrade, and goes out on their next mission. (Iseph could have stayed home to keep working on the active camouflage, eventually reducing the item's total Price to just the half they paid up front, but adventuring is far more lucrative!)
If Iseph's Crafting check result were a 30 or higher, they'd have gotten a critical success. In that case, they'd reduce the remaining amount by 20 credits per day (the amount for a 6th-level expert). They'd eliminate the extra cost entirely after 13 days, only spending the 250 credits they supplied up front.